Pearl lettuce, also known as beet, true pearl cauliflower, true pearl lettuce, etc., is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Artemisia in the family of Asteraceae, mainly distributed in the area of Guangzhou, Shantou, Guangdong Province, East of the region has a small amount of planting, Shanghai has also been introduced in recent years successful planting.

Pearl lettuce plant erect, plant height 30 ~ 80 cm. The stem is purple, 0.5-0.8 cm thick, with strong branching ability, each axillary bud can produce lateral branches under certain conditions, and can be harvested many times for young stems and leaves, and the base of the stem has a strong adventitious rooting ability, which makes it easy for cuttings to survive. The main root is obviously stout, with a well-developed root system, mainly distributed in the soil layer of 15-20 centimeters. Leaf blade dark green, pinnatisect, leaflets 2 to 5, leaf margins have different depths of notch, single raceme, inflorescences 15 to 20 cm long, there are several small flowers composed of white flowers shaped like pearls, the fruit is rare, thousands of grains weighing about 2 grams.

Pearlwort belongs to the family Primulaceae, genus Pearlwort. It is a perennial herb, born in wet grassland or embankment weeds such as riverside and river bank. The main root is long and thick, and the rhizome is slender and brownish-red. The stem is single, erect, 40-100 centimeters tall, terete, nearly glabrous or sparsely pilose in the upper part. Basal part often leafless, leaves concentrated in the middle and upper part. Leaves alternate, elliptic to broadly lanceolate, apex acuminate, base attenuate, subsessile or shortly stipitate, both surfaces yellow-brown pilose and black glandular dotted, entire. Racemes terminal, often curved and densely flowered, gradually elongating to 20 cm during fruiting. Bracts subulate, often slightly longer than pedicels. Lobes ovate-elliptic, apex obtuse, margin membranous. Corolla white, lobes ovate-elliptic. Stamens shorter than corolla, filaments glandular hairy. Capsule globose. The whole herb contains soap, the root (June to July) contains about 2.8% saponin, and the seeds contain 32%-34% fatty oil. Each hundred grams of fresh product contains 3.1 grams of protein, 2.4 grams of crude fiber, 3.79 grams of carrot, niacin 0.9 mg, vitamin C149 mg.

This variety of fall digging whole grass, seedlings and young stems can be used as vegetables to eat, the root or the whole grass are medicinal, blood circulation and menstruation, diuretic effect of swelling, the fruit can be brewed.